Football is one of the most entertaining, exciting and common sport in the whole world. Today we will present FOOTBALL VOCABULARY in ENGLISH so that you can have a better conversation when you talk about football matches.

The game of football is a team sport in which the main objective is to kick the ball into the net. It is the most popular sport in the world and there is great passion about it. The main football even is the World Cup which is played in different countries every four years. It is a very common topic of conversation especially among men and for this reason we must be prepared and know football vocabulary.

Football Vocabulary BASICS

Here is a list of football terms. Please note that some are nouns others verbs and some might be both.

a match – (un partido): two teams which play in a 90-minute game of football

Example:
The match between Germany and England was very exciting.

a pitch / a field – (cancha): the area where footballers play a match.

Example:
The pitch in the stadium is made of high quality grass.

a referee– (arbitro): the person who enforces the rules in the pitch while playing football.

Example:
The referee made a big mistake during the game.

a linesman / referee’s assistant – (juez de línea): the referee with a flag that helps the main referee. He makes a call when the ball has gone out of play or when a player is offside

Example:
The lineman conceded the goal although it was offside.

a goalkeeper – (arquero): the player in goal who player who is allowed to use his hands during the game.

Example:
The goalkeeper made an incredible save

a defender – (defensor): a player who prevents other team from scoring goals.

Example:
Terry is a defender and plays in defense for England.

a midfielder – (mediocampista): a player who plays mainly in the middle part of the pitch (or midfield),

Example:
Maradona was one of the nest midfielders in football history.

an attacker/forward – (atacante): A forward is a layer whose main objective is to score goals

Example:
Henry is an attacker and plays in attack for Barcelona and France

a captain – (capitan): the player who leads a team.

Example:
The captain argued with the referee about the call.

a substitute – (cambiar jugador): a substitute occurs when a player who sits on the bench enters the game to replace another team-mate on the pitch. Can also be used as a verb, e.g. the manager was not happy with his attacker and substituted him after 60 minutes

Example:
The manager of the team decided substitute the captain because he was injured.

a manager/coach – (entrenador/técnico): the person in charge of a team and responsible for training, making substitutions etc

Example:
Mourinho is currently the best manager in the world.

a foul : an action in the match which goes against the rules.

For example:
If a player, other than the goalkeeper handles the ball in the penalty box it is a foul and a penalty is given to the other team

a booking (amonestacion con tarjeta amarilla): It is when the referee shows a yellow card for a serious foul.

Example:
The defender received a booking due to a strong foul.

full-time: it is the point referee blows the final whistle and the match is over normally after 90 minutes and any added injury or stoppage time

injury time/stoppage time (tiempo de reposición): it is the minutes added at the end of the regular playing time at half-time or full-time. It is at the referee’s discretion.

Example:
The referee added five minutes injury time.

extra time – (tiempo extra): In some games, if a match ends in a tie and doesn’t have a winner at full-time, two halves of fifteen 15 minutes each

Example:
The championship match ended in a draw so they had to play extra time.

offside

It is a in a position which is not allowed by the rules of the game

SCORING – Puntaje en el futbol

the score – (marcador/anotar): the record of goals that indicates who is winning a match. It also can used as a verb

Example:
The forward scoredthree goals.

to concede – (conceder/recibir una anotación en tu arco): it is when the opposite team scores

Example:
Peru conceded only two goals against Brazil.

a goal – (gol/anotación): it is when a team scores by putting the ball over the goal line into the goal past the goalkeeper.

Example:
Messi has scored a beautiful goal for Argentina

an own goal – (auto gol): a goal scored accidentally by a member of the defending team into his own goal that counts in favour of the other team.

the lead – (la delantera/estar arriba en el marcador): when a team scores first it is “in the lead”,

an equaliser – (empate/empatar):when team scores and leaves the match tied or drawn. It can also be used as a verb